Devon Travis continued his impressive start to the season last week

The flurry of free-agent activity has probably slowed down in most leagues, as the off-the-radar and young bucks have been scooped up. The “diamonds-in-the-rough” have been mined. Now it’s about replacing injured players and shuttling the dead weight off the ship. Most of the impact players will have to be acquired via trade. Hopefully this column will assist you in managing your fantasy team roster to it’s optimal capacity. You don’t need me to tell you that Giancarlo Stanton and Felix Hernandez are awesome or that Adam Wainwright might be done for the year, so I will try and refrain from writing about them.

RISERS

• Devon Travis (2B – Toronto Blue Jays) – Travis continued his stellar play by hitting .386, scoring four runs, hitting two home runs, driving in four, and stealing a base. He looks to be the real deal and hits second in one of the best offenses in baseball. He may be the waiver-wire find of the year when it’s all said and done.

• Mark Teixeira (1B – New York Yankees) – What year is it? 2010? He hit .256 with a .846 OPS, 33 HRs, scored 113 runs, and drove in 108 that year. Since then, he’s been plagued by a myriad of injuries every year, but has gotten off to scorching start in 2015. Over the past week, Teixeira has hit five home runs, drove in 12, scored six, and posted a .333 AVG. He’s 35 years old and has an extensive injury history. I’d be wary of this kind of production lasting all season. Sell him if you can, but I doubt you can much for him. Text that Yankees’ fan in your league.

• Jimmy Paredes (OF – Baltimore Orioles) – Paredes hit two home runs, drove in nine, scored eight runs, stole a base, and hit .433. The good: A swich-hitter, plays in Baltimore, and has been hitting in the heart of the order. The lineup is potent and Camden Yards is hitter friendly. The bad: Has never received more than 190 plate appearances in his five-year MLB career and plays in Baltimore. Manager Buck Showalter likes to platoon guys, and he has a plethora of options to play DH and the outfield. Paredes has a career .252 AVG, .649 OPS, and has hit a total of eight home runs with 16 stolen bases in 492 plate appearances. Wouldn’t hurt to grab and stash.

• Alex Guerrero (2B – Los Angeles Dodgers) – Roy Hobbs-Guerrero. All he does is hit. He’s batting .524 with an OPS of 1.855, homered five times, and drove in 13 runs in 21 at-bats. He’s earning more plate appearances because of his play, but expectations need to be tempered. He will not be replacing anyone soon. Juan Uribe is entrenched at third base and Carl Crawford/Scott Van Slyke is the left field platoon. Justin Turner is the back-up at shortstop and second base. Don Mattingly is loyal to his veterans, and Uribe is well-respected and a leader in the clubhouse. The Dodgers are in first place, the new regime prioritizes pitching and defense first and foremost, and the offense is already one of the more potent ones in the league. Mattingly also mentioned that he wants to see how Guerrero adjusts when the league adjusts to him. It’s going to be a long process, but production and talent usually win in the end. If Guerrero continues to be Roy Hobbs, then he will play. Just don’t expect it anytime soon.

• Adeiny Hechavarria (SS – Miami Marlins) – Hechavarria is riding a nine-game hitting streak. Over the past week, he collected nine hits for a .321 AVG, scored eight runs, hit one home run, drove in 10, and stole one base. A broken clock is correct twice a day. Not much to see here. Hechavarria is a career .255 hitter, has hit eight home runs, and has stolen 19 bases in 1361 plate appearances.

• Manny Machado (3B – Baltimore Orioles) – Machado clubbed two home runs, drove in seven, scored five, stole two bases, and collected 10 hits for a .344 AVG. Health is the issue for Machado. If healthy, 20+ home runs is a distinct possiblity. The two stolen bases are nice, but owners can’t expect many of those.

• Chris Owings (SS/2B – Arizona Diamondbacks) – Owings collected nine hits for a .391 AVG, scored three runs, hit one home run, drove in five and stole three bases. After a brutal start to the season, Owings has heated up and brought his average up to .241. He’s hitting sixth in a very good lineup, and playing time shouldn’t be an issue.

• Justin Maxwell (OF – San Francisco Giants) – Maxwell slugged three homers last week, scored five runs, and drove in seven in five games. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Maxwell will continue to see time even when Hunter Pence returns. Maxwell is a career .228 hitter with 37 home runs and 26 stolen bases in 964 plate appearances.

• Matt Kemp (OF – San Diego Padres) – Kemp hit .379, scored eight runs, drove in five, and stole three bases last week. The home runs have not been plentiful, but everything else has. He looks great hitting and running. As long as Kemp is healthy, he looks primed for a great season, and may be a bargain for those that drafted him at ADP 58.

• Gerrit Cole (SP – Pittsburgh Pirates) – Cole pitched two games, and was masterful in both. Against the Brewers he went six innings, allowed four hits, one earned run, walked one, and struck out six for the win. In Arizona, he threw seven and two-thirds innings, allowed seven hits, one earned run, walked two, and struck out seven for the win. Cole could be in the Cy-Young discussion at the end of the year, as he is now 3-0 on the season with 27 Ks in 24 2/3 innings, a 2.19 ERA, and 1.05 WHIP.

• Zach Cozart (SS – Cincinnati Reds) – Cozart hit three home runs, drove in seven, scored five, and stole a base last week. He only hit .214 though. On the season, he’s hitting .306. He’s a career .245 hitter in 1866 plate appearances, so I wouldn’t put too much stock in the hot streak. The Reds are a rejuvenated offense and Great American Ball Park is hitter-friendly, so there is that.

• Yimi Garcia (RP – Los Angeles Dodgers) – Garcia earned his first save of his career Friday night in impressive fashion. He struck out two, and his stuff looks electric with lots of movement. On the season, he is 2-0, 0.93 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, and 16 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. He could assume the closer role until Kenley Jansen returns sometime in mid-May. Even when Jansen returns, Garcia could still hold value, especially for those in Holds leagues. Could he be this year’s Delin Betances?

• Jake Marisnick (OF – Houston Astros) – Marisnick missed two games last week due to a leg injury, but when he did play he was good. He went 6-for-14 with four runs scored, one home run, three RBI, and three stolen bases. He is a big man at 6’4″, 220 lbs and has 20 HR/20 SB potential. He’s currently batting ninth, which suppresses his value a bit, but if he continues to play well I can very well see him batting near the top of the Astros’ lineup.

FALLERS

• David Price (SP – Detroit Tigers) – Got roughed up by the Yankees for 10 hits and eight earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. Price also walked three and only struck out two. The weather definitely played a factor in this start, as it was very cold. In addition, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann have good career numbers against Price. All in all, it was just one of those days. Price will be fine.

• Ian Kennedy (SP – San Diego Padres) – Fantasy owners would’ve wished he stayed on the DL, as the Dodgers rudely welcomed him back for eight earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. The ball was surprisingly jumping out of the ballpark in San Diego, and the Dodgers are a pretty hot ball club right now. Kennedy will be fine. It was his first game back.

• Kendall Graveman (SP – Oakland Athletics) – The pre-season hype was unjustified. He wasn’t able to pitch five innings deep in either of the games he started last week. On Sunday, he was optioned to Triple-A Nashville.

• Jimmy Rollins (SS – Los Angeles Dodgers) – After a game-winning home run Opening Day, Rollins has done very little. This past week, he only collected three hits with one run scored. There are three shortstops on the risers list so… The counting stats should come, although it’s pretty disappointing that he’s not able to contribute in what is a good Dodgers’ offense. Because of his leadership and defense, Rollins will continue to get at-bats, so there’s that. Be on the look-out for a lineup demotion by Mattingly.

• Brett Lawrie (3B/2B – Oakland Athletics) – Lawrie had an eventful week off-the-field. Unfortunately, fantasy owners don’t get points for the number of interviews he does. Last week Lawrie collected four hits, scored one run, and drove in four. Note to owners: Billy Beane makes mistakes from time-to-time.

• Cody Allen (RP – Cleveland Indians) – Allen has been very hittable this year, after a dominant 2014. This past week, he blew a three-run lead by allowing six hits for four earned runs. He then entered Sunday’s game because he hadn’t pitched in five days and walked one, allowed two hits, and an earned run. Allen’s job as closer looks to be safe for now. The Indians just don’t have anyone to replace him.

• Miguel Castro (RP – Toronto Blue Jays) – The 20-year-old closer of the Toronto Blue Jays blew a save on Saturday. He still accumulated two saves last week, but gave up three earned runs. His control has been suspect, and batters are punishing him for mistakes. While Castro received a vote of confidence from Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, Roberto Osuna has been spectacular and could be given a chance.

• Steve Pearce (OF – Baltimore Orioles) – After hitting a home run in the first two games of the season, Pearce has done little since. As a result, he has ceded playing time to Jimmy Paredes. Last week, Pearce sat three games and was 1-for-8 with one RBI before Sunday’s game, where he went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI. With Paredes playing well and Showalter having many options in the outfield, it’s tough to rely on Pearce. Last year was a career-year across the board and it may have been an aberration.

Good luck to everyone in Week 4.

Stan Son is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Stan, check out his archive and follow him @Stan_Son.